St. Louis Gateway Arch

I came to St. Louis these past few days to attend SC25 🏙️. Before the trip, I read that it's one of the Top 10 most dangerous cities in the U.S. 😰. I really didn’t want to come at one point… On the first day, I arrived at 6 PM. It was already dark, and as soon as I got off the plane, I just wanted to hurry home 🚖💨. The next day, after finishing media-related work at the venue, I wrapped things up and got ready to return to the hotel. I had already opened my phone to book a ride 📱, but just before tapping the button, I suddenly thought… Well, I’m already here, and I probably won’t come back for any other reason 🤔. So I decided to give myself some time to walk around and explore 👣. Gateway Arch is just a 15-minute walk from the venue 🚶‍♀️. Even though I felt pretty scared along the way—after all, I’d read so many cautionary posts online 😥— the further I walked, the more it reminded me of my first days in New York seven years ago. Back then, my friend and I walked through New York streets late at night for the first time 🌃. We hugged the sidewalk the whole way, hearts racing 💦. We felt like nowhere was truly safe, yet we forced ourselves to act calm 🥲. That reckless kind of courage suddenly woke up again in St. Louis ✨. This familiar yet strange feeling washed over me all at once 🌊. I suddenly missed my freshman-year self so much 🎒, and realized just how fast time has flown by ⏳😢. When I stepped into the Arch park, I slowly began to relax 🌳. It’s a national park—much smaller than New York’s Central Park— but the scenery was truly beautiful: wide green lawns, brown autumn leaves all around 🍂, sunlight spilling over that iconic arch… the whole scene felt so peaceful ☀️✨. I took some photos there 📸, wandered through the free museum inside, learned a bit about the city’s history, and then called a ride back to the hotel 🚘. ✨🫧 This business trip, which I began with so much unease, through this short journey of exploration, unexpectedly brought me back to that version of me who’s still a little curious about new places 🧡🌟. #StLouisStory #CourageOverFear #UrbanExploration #TimeTraveler #USNationalPark